AWARENESS OF HEALTHCARE FACILITY MANAGERS ON MEN`S SEXUAL HEALTH
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/pub.health.2026.1.20Keywords:
men's sexual health, sexual dysfunction, healthcare managers, awareness, patient clinical pathway, healthcare managementAbstract
Topicality. Sexual health is an important aspect of quality of life and overall health. That is why, international experts recommend that patient-centered healthcare systems, based on a comprehensive approach to medical care, provide a holistic assessment of sexual health and allocate resources to address sexual problems.
The purpose of the study was to analyze the awareness of healthcare facility managers regarding the prevention and organization of medical care for men with sexual dysfunctions.
Materials and methods: throughout 2025, based on a questionnaire we developed, a survey was conducted among 50 managers of 11 publicly owned and 3 privately owned healthcare facilities in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.
Research results. It has been established that most healthcare facility managers are not sufficiently aware of men's sexual health issues and acknowledge this themselves through self-assessment of their knowledge (30.0% considered that they had no knowledge at all, 56.0% had partial knowledge) and the need to acquire it (96.0%). Despite self-criticism, most, but not 100%, of the surveyed healthcare facility managers were well informed about the organization of clinical pathways for men with sexual dysfunction. In particular, they gave priority to primary care physicians (80.0±5.7%) in detecting pathology, who, according to the respondents, should assess the sexual health of men (92.0%) and recommend them to visit a urologist-sexologist for preventive purposes, especially in the presence of risk factors (78.0%). Most healthcare facility managers rightly pointed out that, in addition to urologists-sexologists and urologists-andrologists, psychologists/psychiatrists (84.0%) and cardiologists (62.0%) should also be involved in the counseling of men with sexual dysfunction. In the opinion of healthcare facility managers, primary care physicians (44.0%) should take an active part in the follow-up of men with sexual dysfunction, alongside urologists-andrologists (48.0%) and urologists (40.0%).
Conclusions. It is necessary to improve training programs for healthcare facility managers as part of continuing professional development on issues related to men's sexual health and the organization of clinical pathways for patients with sexual dysfunctions.
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